


So, The Thing About Spiders

by DaniJayNel



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator Dark Fate
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Humor, fear of spiders, pet shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22526293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: Grace felt herself sway. “Are you telling me that a giant, hairy spider is loose in this shop?”Carl and Dani shared a look. “Yeah,” Dani confirmed. “But he’s harmless. We’ll find him in no time.”Grace bumped into a table and turned to catch the bags of seed before they fell, and thought she spotted something big and brown and hairy.The scream she let loose would put any three-year old girl to shame.XHer uncle Carl asks her to visit the pet shop with him to get a new spider, but there's just one problem. Grace is terrified of them. Of course she doesn't tell him, of course the spider gets out, and of course she screams in front of the incredibly cute girl that works there.
Relationships: Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Comments: 20
Kudos: 141





	So, The Thing About Spiders

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the movie. I saw it. So, I've gotten super tired of the ton of canon compliant/divergent and fix it fics. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed a lot of them, and we need them. But I think we have enough of them now. I want to see more modern day AUs, or just other AUs not set in canon. So I'm making it my mission to flood the tag with as much AU as I can. Hope you all enjoy

“Uncle Carl, are you sure you need my help?”

Carl hopped out of his truck and rounded it to Grace’s side, flashing a rare but amused grin that transformed his whole face. Grace narrowed her eyes and watched him open her door.

“Please, Grace. I would like a second opinion.”

She really didn’t want to admit the real reason she wasn’t so up for this, even though she had finally given in after weeks of her uncle begging. It didn’t make sense. Why couldn’t he just do this himself? Grace had the strange sense that he had some ulterior motive, and he certainly didn’t know about her fear.

“Fine,” she grumbled and hopped out. He showed his teeth in an even wider grin, then dropped the expression so fast it was unnatural. “You know I love you but you need to stop grinning like a maniac.”

Uncle Carl gave her a wounded look. “Don’t be rude to your uncle.”

Grace tried not to laugh, so rolled her eyes instead. Carl didn’t add to that, and shut the door with a little too much force. As they crossed the road to the little store right on the corner, Grace could feel a little bit of nervousness creeping in.

 _Stop being so scared_ , she told herself, frowning. _It’s not a big deal_.

Bless his pure soul, uncle Carl didn’t even notice how anxious she was getting. It was super embarrassing, and that was the main reason Grace never shared this secret with anyone, ever. She was tall and intimidating and a lot of people thought she would beat them up just from the way she looked in general. If they found this out? No one would take her seriously. Grace could admit she liked the feeling of being feared, a little bit. She wouldn’t really admit that either, though.

The sign above the store read _Ramos Animal Care_ , and it was not a vet or a pet store. Uncle Carl loved to come here because they didn’t sell animals like product, but instead adopted rescued animals out as if it operated like a regular pet store. They stocked food, medications, accessories, did grooming and training and herbal remedies as well. If anyone wanted to leave with any of the various animals, from dog to lizard, they had to go through a check process. A background check, an introduction to the animal and a signed contract vowing that if they harmed the animal, they could expect legal action, and that the animal had to be returned to them and not privately rehomed. They also worked very closely with the local shelter, and they were the main reason the shelter had converted to a no-kill.

“I’m way more of a dog person,” Grace grumbled as they stepped through the door, a bell jingling above them.

“Hush, grumpy pants,” Carl told her with a chuckle.

Grace decided she would shut up, accompany her uncle and just tell him what he wanted to hear. The sooner he could sign those papers and leave with a new pet, the sooner she could leave here.

She did _not_ hate animals. Not in the least. She just… had a certain fear. An irrational fear. And that fear was creeping up on her as Carl walked straight for the tarantula tank. She pasted on a cool, unaffected expression and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Right. She was cool. She could do this.

“Hi Uncle Carl!” a young woman greeted loudly, vaulting clear over the counter to careen right into Carl for a tight hug.

Grace froze and stared, mouth parted in surprise as her uncle lifted this tiny woman up in his arms and laughed in delight.

“Dani! How have you been?”

Once set on her feet, Dani readjusted her ponytail and name badge and offered a blinding smile. Grace could admit one thing—she was a whole fucking lesbian disaster. That smile with those dimples, and the beautiful brown skin and dark eyes and those very soft looking lips, they made Grace’s brain immediately freeze-frame and then run backwards.

“I’ve been good, Carl. We haven’t seen you here in a while. Diego was starting to miss you.”

From the counter a man was busy scanning some pet food for an elderly lady, and he sent Dani a exasperated look. “If you mean I missed his bear hugs, then yes.”

Carl seemed to enjoy their interaction. “I brought my niece this time, like I said I would!”

And with that, Dani finally turned to look at her as if she only then noticed her. Grace’s mouth dried up in an instant and she straightened just slightly. Dani walked over, offering her hand. She was smiling adorably and Grace’s heart deadass melted.

“Grace, is it?” They shook, and Grace’s heart jumped at the touch of warm, soft skin.

Grace nodded dumbly. “Sure.”

A cute little furrow formed between Dani’s brows. “Sure? Is there something else to call you?”

“No! Um, I mean like, yeah. I’m… I am Grace.”

Carl snorted very loudly and obviously, and Grace heard Diego cough on his laughter. She was horrified to feel her cheeks warm up, but she forced herself to remain calm and collected on the outside.

“Okay then, Grace. It’s nice to meet you. Your uncle’s said a lot of things about you.”

Grace’s eyes flicked over to Carl, but he was bent over and cooing at all of the tarantulas. Grace didn’t even want to look into the tank, and so snapped her eyes back to Dani. Her heart jolted when their eyes met, and she realized she was being studied.

“All good things, I hope,” she said.

Dani’s smile turned mischievous. “He never told me how tall you are.”

Grace pulled her hands out and rubbed them dry on her jeans. “I’m pretty tall.”

“Oh, I can see that.” She gave a once over, and Grace felt like she was being checked out. Thank god she had decided to wear her most lesbian-looking tank-top that showed her arms and shoulders.

“So, uh, you work here?”

Dani nodded. “Yeah! Family business. I’m Dani Ramos.”

“Oh, makes sense. This place is amazing. Uncle Carl is always raving about it.”

Dani seemed very pleased by that. “Animals are living beings with feelings and personalities of their own. They’re not things for us to possess. We home them, we don’t sell them.”

“That’s really cool.”

Carl stood abruptly and turned to them. “Dani?” Dani looked at him, frowning. “Have you taken Godzilla out?”

The alarm that flashed over Dani’s face made Grace’s heart stop _not_ from the gay feelings she was experiencing. She watched, panic growing, as Dani rushed over to the tank.

“Oh no, did big boy get out again?”

“Again?” Grace nearly squeaked out. “Please tell me you’re talking about something cute. Like a puppy, or a parrot.”

Dani sent her a look. “No, Godzilla. He’s our biggest and oldest tarantula. He isn’t up for adoption, but we keep him here to live out his days. Clearly, he’s having a blast, vacationing around the shop.”

Grace felt herself sway. “Are you telling me that a giant, hairy spider is loose in this shop?”

Carl and Dani shared a look. “Yeah,” Dani confirmed. “But he’s harmless. We’ll find him in no time.”

Grace was terrified to even move. She hated this so damn much. She wanted to turn and just run away as fast as humanly possible, but she didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of a very cute girl. Uncle Carl was shooting her concerned looks, probably realizing that something was _very_ wrong, but they seemed more concerned with finding the spider than anything else. Grace could barely breathe.

They walked around, looking and lifting things, and Grace started praying for the first time in her life. She decided to slowly back away to the door, to hopefully slip out without anyone noticing. She bumped into a table and turned to catch the bags of seed before they fell, and thought she spotted something big and brown and hairy.

The scream she let loose would put any three-year old girl to shame.

Dani rushed over, shocked. “Grace! What is it?”

Grace backed up as far away as possible and pointed. “I think I saw it.”

Dani investigated, but it was just a clump of soil with roots sticking out. She tossed it back and gave Grace a very patient look. “Grace, are you alright? You look incredibly pale.”

She swallowed. Inhaled. Exhaled. “I’m fine.”

Dani gently placed a hand on her arm. “Are you afraid of spiders?”

“No.” She gritted her teeth hard.

“Oh.” Dani’s eyes suddenly moved to her shoulder, and her brows flew into her hairline. “Don’t move!”

Grace swore she could feel something crawling on her. So when she screeched like a banshee again, twisted around to throw whatever it was off—and there was nothing—she tripped on her own feet and then scrambled away as far as she could. Dani covered her mouth with a hand, and at the back of the shop Carl shouted.

“Found the big boy!”

Grace sucked in deep, unsteady breaths. She was shaking badly.

“I’m so sorry, oh my god,” Dani told her, dropping down in front of her. “That was so mean of me. I didn’t think you would react like that. I just wanted to test you.”

Grace offered a shaky smile. “You’re cute, so I’ll forgive it this time.”

Dani lifted a brow. “So, are you afraid of spiders?”

Grace closed her eyes and tried to even her breathing. “Yes,” she finally admitted.

Dani’s hand covered her own. “That’s okay, you know. We all have our fears. Do you want to get out of here?”

Uncle Carl was by the counter, telling Diego about what had just happened, both of them chortling. Grace flushed and wished she was _anywhere_ else.

“Yeah.”

“I can treat you to some coffee.” Dani offered a hand, though Grace didn’t need it. She took it all the same, and Dani helped to hoist her up. “Damn you’re heavy.”

Grace flashed a smile. “There is a lot of me. Are you asking me out on a date?”

Shrugging, Dani slipped her badge off and tossed it at the counter. “If you’d like. I feel like I owe it to you, for being a bit of a dick.”

Grace could hardly believe this. The cute girl was asking her out after she acted like a child? She felt… incredibly grateful, and less like an idiot. Dani wasn’t laughing at her, or looking at her like she was a dumbass.

“I promise to protect you from all the spiders,” Dani added, smiling in amusement.

Grace laughed. “Well, how am I supposed to say no to that offer? Coffee, and protection?”

“Exactly.”

Dani pulled her hair tie out, and shook her thick, beautiful brown hair about her shoulders. Grace was very struck by how beautiful she was, and struck even harder with the fact that they were about to go somewhere together and she could continue looking at her and hearing her talk and just being in her orbit.

“Diego!” Dani shouted and looked towards the counter. Carl and Diego seemed to be in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest, and neither hesitated at her shout. “I’m going out. Be back in an hour!”

Diego didn’t even look at them. “Cool, have fun!”

Dani laughed with an eyeroll, then offered her arm. “Shall we go, fair lady?”

Grace refused to blush. Her cheeks warmed anyway, and she reluctantly tucked her hand into the crook of Dani’s elbow—and wow, her skin was so soft. Even though this woman was so tiny compared to her, Grace felt somehow safer and calmer with her. It was ridiculous. Absolutely wild.

When Dani glanced up at her and grinned, Grace thought that she could definitely fall in love with her.

**Author's Note:**

> It was really difficult deciding which one of them was terrified of spiders and I came to the conclusion that Grace, as big and scary as she is, being the scared one is too good to pass up. You can bet Dani protects her from the terrifying bugs for the rest of their lives lmao. Thanks so much for reading! As always, my tumblr is danijaynel


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